


The Wrong Man

by Ink_Gypsy



Category: LOTR RPF
Genre: M/M, Sean Astin/Elijah Wood - Freeform, prompt fics, yuletide4frodo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-17
Updated: 2015-12-17
Packaged: 2018-05-07 04:59:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5444192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ink_Gypsy/pseuds/Ink_Gypsy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A case of mistaken identity has Elijah cooling his heels in a Wellington police station during the early months of LOTR filming.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Wrong Man

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Yuletide4Frodo community on Live Journal in response to the prompt, "Elijah is accused of a crime he did not do and ends up in prison in location of choice."

Elijah Wood had used his acting talent many times during his movie career to pretend fear, but right now no acting was required because his fear was real. And he wasn't just afraid. He was scared shitless. The closest he'd ever come to a police station was on a movie set, but now he was sitting in a real police station, and he was under arrest!

Elijah thought the Wellington cop was kidding, had even started laughing when the officer had approached him on the street when he was on his way to buy cigarettes and began to read him his rights. But he'd stopped laughing when the officer took out handcuffs and cuffed his hands behind his back. "If this is a joke--" he began, then he saw the paper the officer had dropped when he snapped on the cuffs. It was some kind of candid photo, most likely a still taken from a surveillance video, and while the man in the photo did bear some resemblance to Elijah, to his eye it was too slight for the subject to be mistaken for him, but it was obvious the officer didn't agree.

"You've got the wrong man," Elijah had insisted from the back seat of the police car. Worried about losing his passport, he'd left it at the little house he was living in during filming so he had no identification with him. "My name is Elijah Wood," he said. "I'm an actor. I'm working on a film with Peter Jackson." From the look on his face, Elijah could tell that the officer recognized the director's name, but unfortunately not his, and because filming on _The Lord of the Rings_ was only a few months old, it was doubtful the officer knew anything about it. In an attempt to further identify himself, Elijah rattled off his list of credits, hoping at least one of his movies had been shown in New Zealand and the officer would recognize it, but none of the titles rang a bell with him. Which was why Elijah was now sitting in a police station, one wrist handcuffed to chair while he was being processed.

"Don't I get a phone call?" Elijah asked the officer. That was how it worked in America so he hoped it was the same here.

"You get one call," the officer replied.

Elijah relaxed some, knowing everything was going to be fine once he made his call. He'd get hold of someone from Peter's office and this whole mess would be straightened out. Luckily he had every conceivable number attached to the production programmed into his phone, and with such a large list, he was bound to find someone who could come to the station where he was being held. Elijah waited for the officer to hand him his confiscated cell phone, but his heart sank when instead, he was handed the handset from the cordless phone on the desk. 

"Ah…Officer, if I could just have my cell phone back," Elijah requested politely.

"Your mobile's been secured with the other things you had with you when I brought you in. Desk phone works just fine."

"But my phone has the numbers I need," Elijah protested.

"Do you want your call or not?" the officer asked.

"Yes," Elijah answered hurriedly, knowing arguing wouldn't get him anywhere. "Yes, thank you." He stared at the handset he'd just been handed, as if willing the appropriate number to magically dial itself, but then resigned himself. There was one number Elijah had called often enough during his first weeks in New Zealand that he had committed it to memory, and with a sigh, he punched it in. It rang twice, and when he heard the voice on the other end of the line, Elijah said four words: "Sean, I need you."

Sean Astin's first reaction was that it was a prank, or was it possible that Elijah had really been arrested? Elijah had been spending a lot of time with Billy Boyd and Dom Monaghan, who Sean could tell were a bad influence on the younger Elijah. Like Merry and Pippin, the characters they were portraying, Dom and Billy liked nothing better than getting into mischief. Sean could see them spending a rare day off like today getting into trouble, or rather getting Elijah into trouble, but would they go so far as to do something that would involve the police? Surely even Billy and Dom had their limits, unless they hadn't reached them yet. So Elijah's call for help was most likely a joke, and if it was, Sean would bury his annoyance for the sake of Peter Jackson and the production. Still, this was Elijah, and Sean couldn't believe his co-star, a young man he'd become very close to during the last few months, would play this kind of trick on him, so if there was even the slightest chance that he was really in trouble, what choice did Sean have but to help in any way he could? 

Elijah felt awful that he had to bother Sean when he'd already bothered him so many times since he'd arrived in New Zealand, but losing his keys was a small calamity that Sean didn't seem to mind rescuing him from no matter how many times it happened. Truth be told, Elijah thought Sean enjoyed playing big brother to him, coming to his aid in his loyal, Sam-like way, but this was no petty annoyance. He was in real trouble, and yet he couldn't think of anyone better equipped to help. Since Sean now had a key to Elijah's house for emergencies, Elijah had no doubt that Sean would pick up his passport and show up with all the documentation required to prove Elijah's identity and save him from the honest mistake of one of Wellington's finest. Sean, like Sam, could always be counted on to know the right thing to do.

After he'd found the man the desk sergeant had identified as Elijah's arresting officer, Sean readied himself for a long explanation. "You're holding a friend of mine," he began when the man looked up from his desk, but Sean didn't get any further because the man's face lit up and he displayed a wide grin.

"You're Rudy!" he exclaimed. "I can't believe that Rudy is standing right here in my precinct!"

"My name's really Sean Astin, but I never mind answering to Rudy." Sean accepted the hand the other held out and offered a smile in return. "You're holding a friend of mine," he began again, "in what I know is a case of mistaken identity. His name is Elijah Wood and we're filming here in Wellington with Peter Jackson."

Sean produced Elijah's passport and the officer studied it with interest. "The prisoner -- your friend -- told me he was an actor, but I didn't believe him. Gave me a bunch of names of movies he'd been in, but I thought he must have made them up."

"They're all real," Sean assured him. He took out his phone, accessed the internet and went to Amazon.com where he proceeded to bring up any of Elijah's titles that were available for purchase. "As you can see, Elijah was telling you the truth."

"So it seems," the officer admitted. He shuffled through a stack of papers on his desk until he found the one he wanted and handed it to Sean. "But you have to admit, he looks a lot like the suspect we're looking for."

Sean scanned the photo and nodded, even though he couldn't imagine anyone mistaking this man for Elijah. His eyes didn't sparkle like Elijah's. And where was that infectious smile? The man in the photo wore his hair in a short, severe cut while Elijah's hair was longer, and usually standing up every which way, as if he'd just gotten out of bed. Just picturing it made Sean smile.

He'd hoped Elijah would be sitting there with the officer when he arrived, but Elijah was nowhere in sight. Elijah had spoken to him on the phone, and Sean was sure he wasn't hurt, but until he actually saw him… Handing the paper back to the officer, and trying not to sound as anxious as he felt, Sean asked, "So you'll be releasing Elijah soon?"

"Of course, of course." The officer rose, took a few steps then turned back to his desk, picking up a blank sheet of paper and handing it to Sean. "Would you mind signing an autograph for me? I'd really appreciate it."

"I'd be happy to," Sean replied, retrieving a pen from the desk. Satisfied, the man turned again and disappeared through a door on the other side of the room. Sean signed his name, then knowing it would please the officer, added _Rudy_ in quotation marks. He was relieved when a few minutes later the officer returned with Elijah in tow.

The young actor who would bring Frodo to life on screen looked pale and shaky, which surprised Sean. Elijah was normally fearless, so it was obvious that this experience had affected him deeply, and Sean was glad it would be over soon.

"You didn't tell me you knew Rudy," the officer was saying to him. Elijah only nodded. "The Wellington Police Department apologizes for the mix-up, Mr. Wood. I'll get your possessions and then you'll be free to go." Elijah mumbled his thanks, then the officer disappeared through that same door.

"Rudy?!" Elijah exploded once he and Sean were alone. "Really, Sean?"

Sean went to him and put his hands on Elijah's shoulders. "I know you're angry, but you need to calm down so we can get out of here."

"I tried to explain who I was," Elijah went on in an exasperated tone. "I named every movie I've ever been in and he'd never heard of any of them, but I'm free because he's seen _Rudy_?"

Sean sighed. "I'm grateful that he saw it," he told Elijah, "and you should be, too. His recognizing me immediately made him more open to what I had to say."

"I _am_ grateful," Elijah said, then all the fire seemed to go out of him and he shuddered. "I was so fucking scared, Sean. I was going to call one of Peter's people, but they had my phone and yours was the only number I could remember--"

"It isn't a problem," Sean told him. "I was happy to help." The officer returned then, carrying a manila envelope that he handed to Elijah, who opened it and took out his cell phone and keys. He was given a paper to sign, acknowledging the contents were all there. "At least you didn't lose your keys again," Sean offered.

Once they were outside on the street, Elijah said, "That's the best you could come up with? 'At least you didn't lose your keys again.' Lame, Astin."

Sean shrugged. "Considering how many times I've had to call a locksmith for you, it seemed appropriate."

Without warning, Elijah caught Sean in a savage hug, and being so close to him, Sean could feel that Elijah's body was trembling. "Thank you for coming to get me, Sean," Elijah whispered against his ear. "I don't know what I'd have done if you hadn't been there when I called."

"But I _was_ there," Sean said gently, his arms reaching tentatively around Elijah to return the hug, "and I always will be." When Elijah released him, Sean was forced to let go as well. "Any time you need me, I'll be there for you, Elijah. I hope you know that."

Elijah's sudden smile was brilliant, and with some of the color coming back into his cheeks, he was looking more like himself again. "I do," he told Sean, "and I also know how lucky I am to have you in my life."

The words so touched him that Sean reached out reflexively to take Elijah's hand. "I'm glad," he replied, his own smile blooming, "because I feel the same way."


End file.
